Creative Gene was one of the first Genealogy Blogs I bookmarked and read each day. Soon, I was clicking on the links to others’ blogs and soon bookmarked several of them. I read with interest the CoG’s and soon realized that not only were others submitting articles that more people would read but sometimes connections were being made. I knew that if I were to get more than just a few readers (and possibly some connections, too), I should participate in the CoG’s. I enjoy writing and knew that should I undertake a project writing biographies of my ancestors, I should start writing and reading others’ articles.

My first submission to the CoG was for the 47th Edition, published on May 3, 2008 with the theme “A Place Called Home”. My entry was The Town on the River. Wow! After some research and writing and re-writing, I had an article of which I could be proud! Jasia even extended a warm welcome to me and encouraged everyone to welcome this “newbie” to the Carnival!

Since that first entry, I’ve participated in numbers 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 78, and 79 (see top paragraph – all my titles are incorporated into the opening!). There have been a wide variety of topics and several others besides Jasia have hosted. I have not hosted a CoG – that is something I would have to look into and make sure that if I do volunteer to host that I have the time to make sure it is done properly.

I’ve had several favorite topics. Lately I haven’t been able to find the time to put in research in order to write an indepth post for some of them. My favorites have been: The Case of Chase written for the 53rd Edition. The theme was “Carousel” – any genealogy topic was fair game. I had spent quite a bit of time on my article and included pictures and documented evidence information. This article brought four comments from others – two of them descendents of the man I wrote about – people I didn’t think existed! Another favorite entry was Independent from Birth for the 51st Edition.

I’ve read articles in the CoG that have touched my heart, sparked an interest, and given me new research techniques to think about and investigate. Unfortunately, I’m unable to think of just one that would be the all time stand-out – there are so many talented writers and enthusiastic genealogists for me to pick just one!

I generally encourage my readers to check out or submit articles to the CoG. The more the merrier! And it’s always wonderful when someone new begins submitting articles.

The Carnival of Genealogy has enabled me to go above and beyond just gathering names, dates and places. I have delved into the lives of those that I’ve written about – trying to capture their emotions, joys, and hardships. Reading others’ articles has given me new avenues to investigate and research when hunting for that “brick wall” ancestor.

The impact on my life has been two-fold. One – I’ve been able to meet new friends and some distant cousins. By reading some of the articles and seeing a common surname, I’ve made connections. The second aspect has been aiding me in becoming a more thorough researcher and writer.

I’d like to extend my thanks to all of the genea-bloggers who have commented on my articles; who have pointed me in other directions for information; to those who capture my interest with their thought provoking, informative and heart-touching stories; and to Jasia who first introduced me to the Carnival of Genealogy! You folks are great!

And for all of you who think you can’t write an article for the CoG – just try it once! You may learn something new about yourself!